Examine the relationship between crimes against humans and the state
State crimes are crimes committed by, on behalf, or with the complicity of governments or state agencies such as the police, armed forces or secret services. Sociologists have looked into state crime and some have gone as far as to say it breaks human rights e.g. - the right to life, the right to reproduce. Although not all sociologists see breaking human rights as a crime, some do. Some sociologists who look into the how the state has committed crimes against humans and caused harm are Schwendinger, Cohen and Bauman.
Schwendinger basically says that state crime is a violation of human rights, rather than a break of legal rules. This means states that deny individuals’ …show more content…

Dehumanisation- this is the idea that the enemy is portrayed as sub-human or like an animal and this makes them seem undeserving of human rights.
Some sociologists argue crimes such as crimes of obedience were more prominent in the past when there was not much technology or advancement in society.
Bauman disagrees that this is true; he believes that modern society sets the conditions or crime including state crimes on a large scale. For example, for Bauman, the holocaust were the Nazis murdered over six million Jews along with other persecuted groups was a product of living in a modern society, and not a return to some kind of barbarism in the past. Bauman believes modern society has caused more opportunities for crimes of obedience due to advanced technology e.g. - via the TV, accessing the population.
Although state crime is seen as breaking human rights and going legal rules actually put in place, is it actually the most serious crime? Green crime, including the disposal of hazardous waste and the burning of dangerous chemicals is seen to be a lot more serious for some sociologists than the idea of having human rights taken away e.g. - in Africa every day some sociologists argue human rights are being broken as they have no access to food, and even sometimes water.
Overall, the state has caused massive